about
What to Make of Earth and Dust explores the reclamation of brujería amongst young Latinx and Afro-Latinx women as a way to celebrate their heritage and preserve ancestral knowledge. Having survived stigmatization and erasure, brujería, the Spanish word for “witchcraft,” refers to the diverse spiritual practices that derive from indigenous Latin American, African, and Caribbean belief systems. This workshop and performance series examines how these various spiritual practices interconnect female empowerment, community activism, and self-healing through art and media.
April 3 - 19, 2020
la loba loca
La Loba Loca is a Queer educator, herbalist, consultant, seed saver and gardener. Their work encompasses Andina identity, Reproductive Justice, doula work and plant connections. Loba is currently based in Los Angeles, CA but is constantly traveling for work and research all over the US (Turtle Island) and Latin America (Abya Yala). They have facilitated over a hundred trainings and skill shares in universities and community groups on herbalism, plant relations, social justice, healing justice, and autonomous health.
venue
153 COFFEY is a multidisciplinary, artist-led studio dedicated to exploring the dramatic potential of constructed space through performance, film and design. The studio is located on a cobblestone street in Red Hook. This Civil War era warehouse is ideal for large scale work. The main floor is a 7000SF open plan with skylights and windows, 15’ ceilings, exposed brick walls, heavy timber columns and beams, plywood finished floor, and an additional full size storage cellar. The space is flexible for multiple uses and highly photogenic.
153 COFFEY supports collaborative discovery through a rigorous and extended process of experimentation without the distraction of a commercial application. Historically New York City has supported a vibrant and varied community of artists, with cheap rents and and an abundance of space. The city no longer amenable to this vision leaves many working artists little time to explore new ideas at the expense of their own artistic development.
A special thanks to the collective management and curatorial support of Andromache Chalfant (theater and design), Babette Pendleton (performance art) and Michael Sharkey (film and photography).